Leaving the Lakes behind we drove to Carlisle and then east to see the Roman Forts at Corbridge and Chester. These were part of Hadrian’s Wall which began construction in 122AD – forts were established along the wall to house the soldiers and eventually grew to support towns over the 300 to 400 years they were occupied.
From there we headed eastwards to Birdoswald Roman Fort which had quite a length of the actual wall remaining. Most of the wall went into constructing the castles following the Norman invasion – obviously having tons and tons of already quarried and shaped large stone blocks was well received at the time.
Our final stop before heading to our guesthouse was Carlisle Castle, the most attacked and beseiged castle in all of Great Britain – those pesky Scots again! Quite a small castle with such a bloodstained history (including being the prison of Mary, Queen of Scots, at one time).
Quite a small castle with such a bloodstained history (including being the prison of Mary, Queen of Scots, at one time).